Similar waiving of the right to sue is woven into many companies’ privacy policies and online terms — those documents that most people scroll through quickly to click the “I accept” button. Now the New York Times is reporting that even something as simple as downloading a 50-cent coupon for Cheerios or entering the Betty Crocker bake-off could forestall consumers’ rights to future litigation. “All disputes related to the purchase or use of any General Mills product or service (are) to be resolved through binding arbitration,” states the new policy of the multimillion-dollar company behind both Cheerios and Betty Crocker. That means court trials or class action lawsuits are off the table.

The Times initially said that simply hitting “Like” on Facebook could have a similarly chilling impact. General Mills clarified its policy in response to the Times article, saying that its statement that “joining our online communities” meant waiving the right to sue, did not apply to consumers who visited its Facebook page or Twitter accounts. Instead the statement referred only to visiting online communities hosted by the company on its own websites.

But “liking” the company on Facebook could still be a stumbling block for suing it in the future. Spokesman Mike Siemienas told the Times that “liking” a General Mills brand on Facebook in exchange for a coupon required a consumer to agree to the new terms.